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The PCC said it was increasingly being asked to make judgements about the use of social mediaMaterial that is published on Twitter should be considered public and can be published, the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) has ruled.
The decision follows a complaint by a Department of Transport official that the use of her tweets by newspapers constituted an invasion of privacy.
Sarah Baskerville complained to the PCC about articles in the Daily Mail and Independent on Sunday.
The messages included remarks about being hungover at work.
She complained that this information was private and was only meant to be seen by her 700 followers.
Ms Baskerville said she had a clear disclaimer that the views expressed by her on Twitter were personal and not representative of her employer.
The disclaimer currently reads: "Scottish & Sober-ish.. Civil Servant. This is my personal account, personal views. Nothing to do with my employers. What I retweet I may or may not agree with."
Ms Baskerville complained to the press regulator, arguing that she could have a
"reasonable expectation" of privacy and that the reporting was misleading.
BBC News | 8 Feb 2011 - read full report
